was smiling at Andy in his stroller. “Well, well, well, what a handsome little rascal you are!” he said.
Pamela stopped for him. The stranger crouched down to grin at Andy. He wasn’t a toucher. He kept his hands in his pockets. “What’s your name, fella?” he asked.
“Andy,” Pamela answered for her son.
The handsome stranger looked up and locked eyes with her. He had such a sexy smile. Pamela felt herself blush. She could always tell when guys were interested in her, and this one was interested. Not that anything would happen, but it sure was nice. In fact, this impromptu flirtation in the park was just what the doctor ordered to make her feel desirable again.
The man glanced down at Andy once more. “Is this beautiful lady your mommy?”
Pamela let out a coy laugh. “Well, I don’t know about ‘beautiful,’ but I’m the mommy.”
He locked eyes with her again. “Listen, Mommy,” he said quietly. “I have a gun aimed at Andy right now. Unless you want to see his little head blown off, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do.”
Pamela wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Dumbfounded, she gazed at the man. The smile disappeared from her face. She glanced down at his hands—still in the pockets of his windbreaker. She could tell he was holding something in his right hand.
Andy let out a screech and squirmed in his stroller. He clapped his little hands and giggled.
The man furtively pulled the automatic out of his pocket for a moment—the barrel pointed at Andy’s face.
“Oh, God, please, no,” Pamela murmured, paralyzed with fear. White-knuckled, she clutched the stroller handles. She glanced around to see if there was anyone else in the vicinity—anyone who might help her. A man in track shorts and a sweatshirt ran along another paved trail about thirty feet away—but he was moving too fast to even notice them. Within moments, he was gone.
Tears stinging her eyes, Pamela gazed at the stranger. “What—what do you want?”
With an odd, little smile, he nodded toward the greenhouse—and the dark, wooded area beyond it. “Let’s take a walk down there, and I’ll tell you what I want.”
Pamela hesitated.
He reached up and gently tugged at the pale green scarf around her neck. “C’mon.”
Pamela swallowed hard and then started walking toward the darkened woods. Her legs felt wobbly. Wincing, she felt something grind against her spine, and realized it was the barrel of his revolver. Pamela realized something else. She was going to die.
As she pushed Andy in his stroller, she could only see the little hood covering the back of his head. He let out a squeal, then giggled and kicked.
“Please…please, don’t hurt my baby,” she whispered to the man.
“I won’t hurt him,” he promised. “Just you, Mommy, just you…”
Pausing under a park light, Hannah McHugh pressed two fingers along the side of her neck and ran in place. Warily, she glanced back at the winding pathway. The strange man had been on her tail for about ten minutes now, and he was still there—about twenty feet behind her. He was dressed in tan corduroys, a flannel shirt, and a light jacket—and he was jogging. He wasn’t even wearing running shoes. From this distance, they looked like loafers, for God’s sake.
A paralegal in a law office downtown, Hannah had been varying her after-work running course from day to day, and it had paid off. She’d gone from a size 10 to size 6. Divorced and thirty-eight years old, Hannah had convinced herself forty wouldn’t be fatal. She’d recently made the transition from medium-brown brunette to Sassy Ginger (at least, that was the name on the Clairol box) and joined an online dating service, www.lifeconnexxions.com. So far, the guys she’d met had been drips, but Hannah wasn’t giving up. Though she hadn’t been in the mood to run tonight, she’d still donned her sweats and taken the Volunteer Park route. Just her luck, her persistence was paying off in the guise of some weirdo following her around the park’s paved trail.
Hannah continued to jog in place and watched the bizarre man coming closer and closer. She studied his brown crew cut and the determined expression on his pockmarked face. He passed by her without even a glance her way. He was muttering to himself in an odd, singsong monologue. Hannah couldn’t make out the words. She watched him retreat down the darkened pathway past the greenhouse—until he disappeared in the shadows.
“Talk about strange,” someone said.
Startled, Hannah swiveled around and gaped at the man.
With his hands tucked in the pockets of his blue windbreaker, the handsome stranger gave her a crooked grin. “Looks like he just stepped off the crazy bus,” he said.
Hannah shyly smiled, wiped the sweat from her forehead and flicked back her Sassy Ginger hair. She nodded toward the darkened trail in front of them. “Yeah, I think I’ll wait a minute before I head down there. He’s probably harmless, but I’m giving him a wide berth just the same.”
“Smart,” the handsome man replied. “A pretty woman like you shouldn’t take any chances at this hour.” He gave her a little wave. “Well, take care.” Then he started to walk away.
“You too!” Hannah called. “Take care!” Biting her lip, she watched the good-looking man wander toward the shadowy trail. Don’t just stand there, stupid, she thought. He’s cute. Go after him, talk to him!
“Hey, wait a second, okay?” Hannah called. She hurried to meet up with the man.
Stopping, he turned and half smiled at her.
Suddenly, she was a little breathless. “Listen, would you mind if I walked with you—just to be on the safe side?”
“No problem, c’mon,” he said, taking a step toward her. For a moment, Hannah thought he’d touch her arm. But his hands remained in the pockets of his blue windbreaker. He nodded toward the paved pathway that snaked through the gloomy woods ahead. “I’ll make sure no one bothers you. Do you live close by?”
“Yes, near the Cornish School,” Hannah answered, strolling beside him. “Lucky for me you came along.”
He didn’t respond. They’d just passed under the last streetlight for a while, and now headed into the wooded section. A few empty cars were parked on the side of the winding road. Hannah kept a lookout for the weird jogger, but she didn’t see him in the darkness ahead. She didn’t see anyone at all.
She felt the stranger’s shoulder brush against hers. Was he flirting? She stole a furtive sidelong glance at him. No, he wasn’t even looking at her. He seemed to be scoping out the area. Maybe he was on the lookout for the crazy jogger, too.
A cool wind kicked up. Tree branches and bushes seemed to come alive for a moment. She could hear the man’s breathing grow heavier. Hannah glanced at him again. He looked so serious—and tense. His gaze shifted from side to side as if he were making sure no one else was around. Then he peered over his shoulder.
Hannah glanced back in the same direction. There was no one behind them. “So—did you lose something?” she asked.
“What?”
